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Background:
“I know that I’ll crash. The money will be gone, the fame will be gone. But in
my heart, I’ll know that I lived the way I wanted to live and I‘m okay. I had
nothing before and I‘ll end up with nothing.” Dennis Rodman
A former basketball superstar, Dennis Rodman is primarily known for his
controversial, on and off the court antics and as a top defender and rebounder.
Starting his professional career with the Detroit Pistons, Rodman made it big by
scoring two championships in 1989 and 1990. Two-time Defensive Player of the
Year winner, Rodman gained even more recognition as the Chicago Bulls’ power
forward, in which he won the NBA consecutive championships in 1996–1998. The top
rebounder of his generation, and one of the best defenders of his positions,
Rodman led the NBA in rebounding for seven consecutive seasons from 1992–1998.
As an actor, Rodman received mix reviews for his work in the action film Double
Team (1997, opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme), in which he netted three Razzie
Awards. He also starred in Simon Sez (1999) and will play a role in the
forthcoming Coming Attractions (2006). On the small screen, Rodman joined the
cast of the series “Soldier of Fortune, Inc” (1998), and made such TV films as
Cutaway (2000) and Stripper's Ball (2003). He will also contribute to the 2006
TV film Lingerie Bowl.
Remembered more for creating trouble and controversy, and for his eccentric
appearance (with numerous tattoos and piercings, and ever-changing brightly hued
hair), Rodman was sued by actress Tina New for $10 million dollars because she
claims he raped her after meeting her in a bar in Newport Beach, California, in
Summer 1999. He also became tabloid headlines for kicking a cameraman in the
groin on his 11-game suspension in 1997. His disgraceful behavior peaked in the
mid-1990s when Rodman became romantically involved with pop icon Madonna.
“I left the table by myself and went to see Madonna. We were in a stairwell, and
she was saying, ‘You love me. You want to be with me. Leave with me right now
and forget your girlfriend.’” Dennis Rodman
Rodman is also well-known for wearing a wedding dress at a public appearance to
promote his autobiography “As Bad as I Wanna Be” (1996). He also wrote “Walk On
the Wild Side” (1997).
Dennis the Menace
Childhood and Family:
In Trenton, New Jersey, Dennis Keith Rodman was born on May 13, 1961, to parents
Philander and Shirley Rodman. Along with his two younger sisters, Dennis was
raised by their single mom after his father, who joined the Air Force, abandoned
the family. Shirley and her three children then moved to Dallas when Dennis was
4, where she filed for divorce. To support the family, Dennis’ mom had to take
on as many as four jobs at once.
Growing up in Dallas, Texas, young introvert Dennis was far from a basketball
prospect in high school. Only 5-foot 6, he was even expelled from the school
team his freshmen year at South Oak Cliff High School. After graduation in 1979,
Dennis took a string of odd jobs and began to get into trouble. As an overnight
doorkeeper at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport, he was arrested for stealing
watches from a store in the airport. Fortunately, the police released the bad
boy after Dennis gave back the watches.
Dennis attended Cooke County Junior College in Gainesville, Texas, but dropped
out of college after only one semester. He next transferred to Southeastern
Oklahoma State University. Here, with an amazing growth of 11 inches in a year,
Dennis became a good scorer as well as a good rebounder for the university’s
basketball team.
In 1993, Dennis Rodman, whose nicknames are The Worm and Dennis the Menace,
married Annie Banks, a model who was born on August 16, 1958. However, the union
only lasted for 82 days. Following the separation, Dennis married actress Carmen
Electra on November 14, 1998. Alas, it also ended in divorce on April 6, 1999.
On May 13, 2003, Dennis remarried again, this time to Michelle Moyer, with whom
he shares two children.
Double Team
Career:
Dennis Rodman began his career as a professional NBA player before breaking into
the Hollywood scene. Young Rodman had to dump his dreams of playing high school
basketball due to his short height, 5-foot-6 at that time. As he jumped to
6-foot-7 after high school, Rodman developed into a force on the playground.
After a stint in junior collage, Rodman caught the attention of Southeastern
Oklahoma State and was invited to join the university basketball team. Scoring
successes and being named first-team NAIA All-American three straight seasons,
Rodman’s position continued to rise as he won MVP honors.
Rodman began his professional career when The Detroit Pistons selected the
25-year-old in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft. Led by Isiah Thomas at
point guard, Bill Laimbeer at center and Joe Dumars as shooting guard, the
up-and-coming team had noteworthy role players in Adrian Dantley, Vinnie
Johnson, John Salley and Rick Mahorn. Adding Rodman to the team’s lists, The
Pistons, known for its rough style of play and tenacious defense, successfully
won their first NBA championship in 1989. As for Rodman, his outstanding
contribution handed him a Defensive Player of the Year award. He had another
victory in his hands when The Pistons won their second straight championship in
1990, in which Rodman once again was named The Defensive Player of the Year.
After his second top rebounding season, Rodman was traded to the San Antonio
Spurs in 1993 for Sean Elliott. Before playing his first game with The Spurs,
Rodman decided to makeover his appearance by shaving his head and dying the
remaining hair blonde, which only added to his growing bad boy image. During his
time with The Spurs, Rodman helped them to their best season in franchise
history with 62 wins, and they made it to the Western Conference finals.
Moving to the Chicago Bulls, Rodman was recruited to fill a large hole in the
power forward left by Horace Grant. The Bulls, with Rodman and the return from
withdrawal of Michael Jordan, succeeded to bring a championship back in 1996
after a two-year absence, and continued the victory for two consecutive years
until 1998. With Jordan winning the scoring title, Rodman led the league in
rebounding for the fifth straight year. Besides, Rodman, Scottie Pippen and
Jordan also made the All-Defensive First Team, the first time three players from
the same team made it on the first team.
The phenomenal Rodman departed The Bulls in 1998 and signed with the LA Lakers
in 1998, but was waived by the club after less than three months. He also had
another brief stint with the Dallas Mavericks before finally quitting the league
in 2000.
While enjoying a success on court, Rodman also tried his hand in wrestling and
had a few matches for World Championship Wrestling. Rodman had his first match
at Bash at the Beach ‘97 on July 13, 1997, which was lost to Lex Luger and The
Giant. In the next season, he defeated Karl Malone & Diamond Dallas Page. He had
his last match at Road Wild in 1999 where he lost to Randy Savage.
In addition to the NBA and the WCW careers, Rodman branched out to film in 1997.
He made his debut with a costarring role opposite action star Jean-Claude Van
Damme in the Hark Tsui-helmed Double Team (1997). His cinematic debut, however,
was negatively received by many film critics. As a result, Rodman was given
three Razzies for Worst New Star, Worst Supporting Actor and Worst Screen Couple
(shared with Jean-Claude Van Damme) in the following year. In 1998, Rodman also
landed his first television role as Deacon ‘Deke’ Reynolds in the TV series
“Soldier of Fortune, Inc.” Back to the big screen, he starred in the title
character of Kevin Elders’ Simon Sez (1999), opposite Dane Cook. After making a
brief appearance in theaters, the action movie hastily recoiled to the home
video market.
As Rodman dropped out of the NBA league in the new millennium, he continued to
pursue an acting career and teamed up with veterans Tom Berenger and Stephen
Baldwin in the made-for-TV film Cutaway (2000). Three years later, he appeared
as himself in a TV film directed by Bill Fisher, Stripper's Ball (2003). After a
seven-year absence from filmmaking, Rodman is scheduled to make his way back
with the comedy Coming Attractions (2006), starring Josh Bunch, Mary Carey and
Tony Casalino. Also in 2006, Rodman is set to appear in the television film
Lingerie Bowl (2006).
During his hiatus from the screen, in 2005, Rodman resurfaced on court and took
part in two different contests in Finland. He participated at Sonkajärvi in a
wife-carrying contest in the summer of 2005, but resigned because of health
problems. At the end of the year, Rodman played a single match and scored 17
points for Torpan Pojat in the Finnish Elite League.
Awards:
- Razzie: Worst Screen Couple (shared with Jean-Claude Van Damme), Double
Team, 1998
- Razzie: Worst Supporting Actor, Double Team, 1998
- Razzie: Worst New Star, Double Team, 1998
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